Via Rail must make changes to 40 of the new coaches it bought in 2000 to make them more accessible to people in wheelchairs, Canada's top court ruled Friday.

The Supreme Court upheld a decision by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), which in 2003 ordered Via to make changes to some of its 139 Renaissance coaches.

The interior of some Via cars is too crowded for wheelchairs.
(CBC)

The CTA ruled that Via had to make accessible one coach car in each day trip and one sleeper in each overnight trip. That would entail modifications to 13 economy coach cars for the day trips, and 17 service cars for overnight trips.

The court ruled 5-4 in favour of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), which has been pushing Via to make the changes since 2000. The CTA supported the council, but Via successfully appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal.

The top court has now overturned the appeal ruling. The decision and dissent were based on whether the CTA had properly exercised its authority.

Cost estimates to make the changes vary wildly. Via earlier said the changes could cost between $48 million and $92 million. The Supreme Court ruling, citing the CTA decision, said meeting "the Rail Code standard of one accessible car per train could be achieved … at a total direct cost of $673,400."  

The ruling was welcomed by Pat Danforth of the CCD. "This decision puts Canada back on the map when it comes to access and travel for people with disabilities." It also may help any traveller struggling for access in the coaches, such as parents with children in strollers.

Before buying the Renaissance cars, VIA used its business-class cars for passengers with wheelchairs. 

But in those cars, "personal wheelchairs could not be used anywhere." None of the three washrooms was wheelchair accessible. There was a "wheelchair tie-down" mechanism, but the space allocated for it would not accommodate a standard wheelchair.

The CCD wanted that space enlarged to fit wheelchairs. The group also wanted accessible washrooms.

The Renaissance cars, bought for the bargain basement price of $139 million in 2000, are a significant part of Via's fleet.

In 2003, the CTA ruled that Via's Renaissance passenger rail cars had undue obstacles for people in wheelchairs.

Via took the case to the Federal Court of Appeal, where the railway argued that the CTA lacked jurisdiction to rule on the issue because there had never been an incident in which a disabled person had encountered an undue obstacle.

The appeal court set aside the CTA order, and told the agency to reconsider the issue, after considering whether the cars do pose access problems, what alternatives are available in other VIA cars, and the cost and technical feasibility of making changes.

The CCD then appealed to the Supreme Court.